Thursday, January 2, 2014

REEEEE-MIIIIX!

When someone screams that out at the beginning of a song, you get hyped, right? What are you expecting when you hear that? Do you expect the same beat and lyrics, but with an added verse somewhere in the song? Or maybe the same song with a completely different beat? A "remix" can mean different things.

In the original song Where Did She Go?, the song is driven by heavy drums with a guitar to help fill out the "body" of the song. The remix version contains strong synth chords and also has changes in the lyric layout and delivery (due to different notes in the beat). The song layout between the two songs are clearly different as well.

Yum Yummz will make you dance no matter which version you listen to. The initial version gives a strong dancehall/island vibe that's comparable to R. Kelly's "Fiesta." Seth Chaos, who has worked alongside Sunspot for years, took the idea of the song and flipped it. Chaos created a more hip-hop based remix by adding a simplified guitar riff and a bass-heavy drum pattern. The lyrics for this remix are rearranged as well. Seth Chaos has also remixed the title track to the Morning After album. It is available only through an ALBUM download of Check The Recipe 2, which is free.

As of this writing, Raw and it's evolved counterpart have the most plays on our Bandcamp site combined. That may be due to the type of remix that it embodies. The original song had 4 emcees on the track while the remix doubles that number of lyricists. Eight different emcees means eight different fan bases the song possibly reached. The second version also keeps the same tempo and feel of the original, which is late 80s/early 90s hip-hop. The hook is gone in the latter track to make room for the Elite Eight - which is a moniker not only for the number of the emcees in the song, but the amount of bars each one delivers.

Every remix on this list is unique from the others, but Nobody Has To Know is a remix, but could also be considered a remake. The original song, Caught Red Handed, presents as a jazz/hip-hop/R&B hybrid, written and performed by Thright Hook. The idea for restyled version was to give the melody a more pronounced bass presence. Part of the hook of the original is reworked into the new hook and performed by G. Jonz. Finally, the song becomes more of a hip-hop version of "Trapped In The Closet" as POES lays down lyrics to a similar story to Caught Red Handed. [Didn't think I'd have two different paragraphs referencing R. Kelly... craziness.]

No comments:

Post a Comment

The name is G. Jonz (gee-jones), also known as The Chef, also known as G. Diddy, but mostly known as a music producer for Sunspot Productions. I delve mostly in the hip-hop and R&B genres, but I like to experiment with all types of music. I am also part of Sunspot's live band, Not Sure Community, as a keyboardist and background vocalist. Expect culinary references & metaphors along with great music and videos. Bon appetit.